


Fools Rush In (and I've been a fool before)

by ItsStillBeating



Series: Knows All About You and Still Loves You. [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Aromantic, Demiromantic, Demisexuality, F/M, demisexual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 14:38:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3385421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsStillBeating/pseuds/ItsStillBeating
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A follow on to 'You Have My Permission Not To Love Me', in which Linda Park decides that Barry and Iris are dorks and cannot be trusted to get together by themselves and so starts some matchmaking. Lots of Parkwest, Westallen and hilarity ensues.</p><p> </p><p>'Linda wondered if it was ethically sound to let Iris believe that Barry wasn’t at this very moment going about his business with a metaphorical ‘Property of Iris West’ tattoo across his forehead. She decided it would be good to omit that detail for now, Iris seemed to be about to divulge her feelings about him.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fools Rush In (and I've been a fool before)

Within the space of one long, drunk evening  Linda learned a lot about the elusive Iris West.

 

Together, Iris and Linda were energetic. They took the town by storm in one night, hopping from bar to bar, dancing and smiling with one another.

 

Iris was tipsy and light on her feet when she grabbed Linda’s hand as they walked towards the cabs. Linda was similarly inebriated but she never backed down from a challenge, and so continued swigging from the bottle of tequila they had previously been sharing. 

 

‘Linda, this reminds me of… of this night when I was incredibly drunk and at this party and it all got very seedy…’

 

Linda laughed out loud and squeezed Iris’ hand, ‘What happened, doll?’ Iris giggled out loud and kissed Linda on the cheek. 

 

‘Well, it got really seedy and I couldn’t call my Dad to come and pick me up, because we had this strange relationship where I attempted to be as squeaky clean as possible so he’d let me be a cop.’

 

Linda squeezed her arm and took another swig. ‘That sounds kind of rough, actually Iris. My parents were very traditional growing up, and I didn’t want to be their perfect girl… I just wanted to be me, you know?’

 

Iris nodded rapidly, ‘I know, believe me. Anyways, this kid came over to me, completely hammered and started telling me how much he was in love with me, and I’d never spoken to him in my life and it really freaked me out.’

 

Linda laughed, ‘I hear you on that one’. 

 

‘Yeah, so I called Barry to pick me up! And he did and he was such a gentleman.’ Iris paused for a second, and was quieter when she said ‘You’ve got yourself a good one, Linda.’

 

Linda wondered if it was ethically sound to let Iris believe that Barry wasn’t at this very moment going about his business with a metaphorical ‘Property of Iris West’ tattoo across his forehead. She decided it would be good to omit that detail for now, Iris seemed to be about to divulge her feelings about him. ‘I mean, Barry is… He’s so great, and so smart and such a dork!’ Her voice became unnaturally high at the end. 

 

‘You’re so great and so beautiful Linda, and all I’ve wanted my whole life was for Barry to meet someone like you.’ She said softly, and her smile was bright but she averted her eyes. 

 

And now Linda felt like a jerk. She opened her mouth to damn it all, to tell Iris that if she loved Barry, she needed to tell him. But Iris interrupted her, ‘I’m so glad he’s found someone.’ She said, with her shutters down and her eyes wet and Linda had the breath knocked out of her.

 

This was… complicated.

 

‘Iris, you know the ‘unrequited love thing’ you told me about?’

 

‘Uh huh.’

 

‘The person he was in love with, it was you, right?’

 

Iris faltered and stuttered on her answer, ‘I wasn’t trying to sabotage you guys!’ She rushed out quickly, and then ‘I...I may have mistook what he meant.’ She lied blatantly, twisting a hank of hair around two of her fingers.

 

Linda had realised over the course of this week that Iris was many things. Firstly, she was an excellent tequila drinker. Secondly, she was a Tolkien nerd who kept a framed picture of Eowyn on her desk. Thirdly, she was a god-awful and stepford smiling liar. And finally, Iris was completely and utterly, painfully in love with Barry (and even more painfully in denial ).

 

 

This was going to be interesting.

 

 

\---------

 

Observing Barry and Iris interacting for the first time was ridiculous.

 

It wildly oscillated from heart wrenching to hilarious. Neither of them seemed to be sure how to act either. Iris fussed around, hovering with her too bright smile and sad eyes. Barry skittered from machismo to solitude. 

 

He refused to touch or look at Linda in front of Iris, lest it be revealed that their relationship wasn't as 'loving' as he'd clearly expressed.

 

This led to a scenario where Iris hit a strike and Barry and his flailing limbs ran towards her with arms poised to lift her in a clear routine. But the routine halted halfway and they ended up standing very close, arms outstretched but heartbreakingly separate.

 

 There was an awkward high five and a shameful walk back to the vinyl seats where Eddie and Linda sat with curly fries and slushies.

 

'You're up.' said Barry quietly, looking very much like he was attempting to not cry as he studied Eddie kissing Iris' forehead.

 

When Linda hit a strike he didn't think to run up and attempt spin her around, but she didn't  blame him. 

 

That wasn't them, and they were okay with that but somehow her and this blond babe had been dragged into it. 

 

Linda found this aforementioned 'blond babe' intriguingly adorable. He shook her hand when they met and introduced himself as 'Detective Thawne... I mean Eddie! Eddie Thawne! I'm only a Detective when I'm at work. Ha!' in the most flustered way and she had giggled and offered her hand, feeling a renewed motivation to get Barry and Iris together. 

 

She wondered if Eddie knew about them. It seemed impossible not to know. She wondered if she should feel guilty about attempting to set them up right under his nose. 

 

She decided that she just viewed him as collateral damage. After all wasn't she sort of doing the same to herself? 

 

She decided to shelve that thought and redeem herself by offering him a shoulder to cry on, and maybe a bed to share... 

 

Anyways, Linda was direct, and there was only so much she could stand of Barry brooding and Iris grimacing before she formulated a plan.

 

\------

 

The Friday before her plan was set to commence she and Iris spent lunch together. Iris had recently uncovered some extremely contraband information about Mercury Laboratories and senior reporters kept interrupting their meal to congratulate her. 

 

Iris was glowing and smiling and Linda decided it was the perfect time to set the wheels in motion. 

'Hey, Iris!'

'Yes?' she responded in between bites of salad.

'Have I ever told you that I'm aromantic?'  Linda said as casually as she could muster and Iris swallowed. 

 

'Um, nope. But I have to confess, I'm not entirely sure what that means.' 

 

'Oh, it's just like, I don't feel romantic feelings for anyone...but like I feel other feelings..' she trailed off into giggling as Iris caught on and winked dramatically.

 

'Other feelings... Gotcha.' she grinned and they both fell into fits of laughter before Iris put her hand on Linda's.

 

 'Thank you so much for telling me' she said, after a pause adding, 

 'Actually, I've never researched it before but I only get all... romantic about people I really, really love already. Like...' she trailed off and looked up  guiltily, 'Eddie's great, I mean, he's more than great! He's perfect, but I seriously couldn't see myself marrying him.' 

 

Linda nodded, knowing that feeling intimately and Iris began again, 'I mean. I'd need to know someone really well to be properly in love with them, like... like...' she said, gesticulating vaguely.

 

'Barry?' Linda finished.

 

'Yeah! I mean... No! He's my best... Wait, does Barry know? she said, suddenly concerned. 

 

'Know what?'

 

'About you not being 'romantic' about him?'

 

Shit. 

 

The plan was going to come to a head far quicker than Linda had meant it to.

 

'Um. Yeah.'

 

'What? He told me that you guys were 'getting serious'!' said Iris, clearly livid. 

'Um.'

 

Fuck.

 

Iris narrowed her eyes at Linda. 

'Linda, is there anything else you should be telling me?'

 

'What? No!'

 

'Linda?' she repeated in a threatening murmur. They stared at each other for around twenty seconds before Iris got up.

 

'If there's nothing, I have to phone Eddie to deal with some things and then I'd really like you to come to talk to Barry with me, so we can get to the bottom of this misunderstanding.'

 

 

Linda only was able to nod weakly as Iris excused herself.

 

\------

 

'Bartholomew Henry 'Liar' Allen! Freeze your filthy lying paws!' Iris screamed as she stormed into the West house with a reluctant Linda in tow. 

 

Barry froze in a strange lunge where he'd been reaching for the remote.

 

He looked up, clearly terrified.

 

'I..Iris..What's wrong?' and then after a pause 'Hi Linda'.

 

Linda waved meekly and excused herself immediately to the kitchen, where she could eavesdrop without feeling like a voyeur.

 

She could hear Iris take a deep breath, then start with,  'You lied to me.' and suddenly Iris sounded broken.

 

 'You told me you and Linda were in love, but you're not, are you?'

 

There was an extended pause before his reply, 'No, not at all.'

 

'So, why?'

 

'Iris... I'm sorry.'

 

'Why?' 

 

'For...For...for lying about..  I just wanted you to think I'd  moved on.'

 

'Moved on from what?'

 

There was a strange tension and his voice was soft when he continued.

 

'From loving you, Iris. I still... I still do. I don't really know how to stop. But I didn't want you to feel weird, I didn't want anything else to change.'

 

'Barry, you didn't have to lie to me. To my face, at my job.'

 

'I know, I'm sorry. But what do you want me to do Iris? Mope around and watch you with Eddie like I have my whole life?'

 

There was another extended pause which Iris broke this time.

 

'I'm sorry, Bar.' and then her voice stuttered  'I broke up with Eddie.'

 

Linda heard the shifting of limbs and she guessed the two were hugging.

 

Barry started,

'I'm sorry I was a lying jerk to you, Iris. You don't deserve it.' and she heard Iris wetly reply.

 

'You're such a dork, Barry. That's not the only reason I'm mad.'

 

'Not the onl...W..Why else are you mad?' he said defensively.

 

'Because having a friend to talk to about this made me realise that this is all new for me, but... but you can't just spring 'I've loved you for fourteen years' on someone and expect them to react normally!' and Linda heard Barry chuckle, 

'That's probably true.'

 

'Shh, Bar. Let me finish. So maybe I couldn't see you like that until it felt like you were being taken away from me and then I realised I'd seen you that way all along...'

 

There was sheer jubilation in Barry's voice when he replied 'Seen me in... what way?'

 

And Iris giggled, and there was a thud as she punched his chest. 

 

'I love you too, you dork.'

 

There was a moment of silence and then impossibly quickly the wet sound of lips meeting lips. 

 

Linda punched the air triumphantly and held herself around the waist until a low, soft moan cut across her private celebration. 

 

'Um. Guys?' she shouted loudly as she quickly crossed the living room.

 

It was hilarious the way Barry's arms protectively tightened around Iris, and Iris folded herself neatly into Barry at the prospect of an intruder.

 

'Linda!' said Barry, with his face reddening as his eyes darted from her to the couch and back.

 

Iris bounded out of Barry's embrace and towards Linda.

 

'YOU KNEW!' she said loudly, pointing her finger at Linda, 

'You totally planned this!' 

 

 

And Linda, found out, shrugged her shoulders, 'I wouldn't quite say that..' before her words were muffled by a very happy Iris leaping onto her and hugging her.

 

'Thank you.' she exclaimed.

 

Barry, who kept touching his lips as if in a trance, remarked,  'Linda, if you ever need....anything.' 

 

Linda giggled and planned to ask for Eddie's number after these two had spent alone time together.

 

She let herself out of the door just in time for the now 'not so soft' moaning to begin again. 

 


End file.
